Trouser support



Nov. 10, 1959 c. ODONNELL TROUSER SUPPORT Filed May 26, 195 8 HTTDRNE'YINVENTOR. CHFIRLES O'DONNELL United States Patent 2,911,653 PatentedNov. 10, 1959 2,911,653 TROUSER SUPPORT Charles ODonnell, Paterson, NJ.Application May 26, 1958, Serial No. 737,792

(Zlaims. (Cl. 2321) This invention relates generally to wearing apparel.More particularly, the invention has reference to a belt, adapted to beself-expanding to fit the particular wearer.

One important object is to provide a generally improved belt of the typewhich does not come completely open, that is, a belt which is of theendless type, having an elastic part through a portion of itscircumference.

Another object is to provide a belt of the type described wherein theelastic part will, in its normal, contracted condition, be readilyadjustable as to length, so as to provide for major adjustments in theoverall size of the belt.

Another object is to so design the elastic part that during normalWearing of the belt, the belt will expand and contract as necessary,during normal breathing, the belt automatically expanding when, forexample, one has eaten heavily. In this way, it is proposed to'eliminate the inconvenience that is present in the case of ordinarybelts, resulting from the fact that the belt tends to remain of aconstant length, and does not automatically compensate for reduction orexpansion of the waistline of the wearer, which reduction and expansionis occurring almost continuously.

Still another object is to provide a belt as stated which will beattractive in appearance, and Will not have unsightly loose ends thatmust be tucked into belt loops of ones trousers, such as is true of aconventional belt.

Another object is to provide a belt that will be so designed that onecan completely detach the elastic part, so that the same elastic partcan be used with any of a plurality of main, inelasticportions of thebelt. In this -way, one may have a plurality of leather main portions ofthe belt, of different widths, colors, etc., for use with differenttypes of attire. Then, with said portions one can use a single elasticpart which can be attached to any one of the various main portions ofthe belt, that has been selected to be worn.

Another object is to provide a belt so designed that the elasticcomponent thereof Will be connected to the ends of the length of themain portion of the belt, by a clip means that can be purchased on theopen market, thus to reduce-the cost of manufacture of the belt.

Another object, in a modified form, is to so design the belt that theclip means will remain permanently assembled, more or less, with themain portion of the belt, although being capable of being adjusted whileso assembled or connected, between gripping and releasing positions. Inother words, the clip means will remain connected to an associated endof the main portion of the belt. Yet, said clip means can be caused torelax its gripping action, while still remaining connected. In this way,the elastic part can remain assembled with the main portion, and caneven be adjusted vertically upon the main portion. Further, thearrangement is one which will permit the clip means to movelongitudinally of the main portion to an extent to temporarily increasethe overvall circumference of the endless belt, which would be 2desirable, for. example, when one is putting on or taking off onestrousers.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the [objects andadvantages. thereof, reference will be had ,to the following description.and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig.. 1 is a perspective view of a belt according to the presentinvention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front elevational view thereof.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, top plan view of the belt.

Fig. 4 is a view like Fig. 2 showing a modification, the dotted linesindicating a raised position of the elastic component of the belt.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of the modifiedform.

Fig. 6 is a still further enlarged, detail sectional View on line 66 ofFig. 5.

Referring to the drawings in detail, in the form of the invention shownin Figs. 1-3 the reference numeral 10 designates what may appropriatelybe termed a main portion of the belt. This term is used in the sensethat the portion extends through the greatest part of the circumferenceof the belt, and constitutes the longer component. The other componentof the belt has been designated 12, and comprises an elastic connectingportion.

The portion .10 in a preferred embodiment would itself be of anon-elastic material, such as leather. It can be of any width or anyornamentation or coloring desired. In the form shown in Figs. 1-3, infact, the stretchable portion 12 is detachably connected at its oppositeends to the respective ends of the main portion it). Therefore, thestretchable portion can be used with any of a plurality of mainportions, so that one can select a main portion according to theparticular attire that he is wearing, as for example, formal attire,sports attire, etc.

In any event, the elastic or stretchable portion 12 comprises a length.14 of' a longitudinally stretchable, resilient material, such as arubberized fabric of the type used, for example, as material for themanufacture of suspenders or braces.

In any event, the length 14 at one end is folded upon itself to providean adjusting loop 16, and freely slidable on the intermediate portion ofthe length 14 is an adjusting buckle 18, having a tongue 20 connected toone end of the length .14 at 22. The buckle itself is conventional, andis. of the same type as is used on suspenders for adjusting the lengththereof. In other words, buckle 18 may be operated between locking andunlocking positions and when unlocked is freely movable alongthe lengthof the elastic material. This adjusts the size of the loop and in turncauses adjustment of the over-all length of the elastic component, toincrease or decrease the distance between the ends of the main portion10 when the elastic component is in its normal, unstretched condition.

The elastic component is connected at its ends to the main portion 30through the provision of clips 24. One clip 24 is connected by itstongue 26 to one end of the length 14. The tongue 26 of the other clipis engaged with the outer end of the loop 16.

The clips are conventional per se, and are of the type used to connectsuspenders to the waists of trousers. Thus, each clip 24 includesgripping jaws 28 pivotally connected at 30 and operable between grippingand releasing positions by means of an operating tongue or handle 32.When the handle 32 is in its position shown in Fig. 2, the jaws arecaused to embrace and grip the adjacent end of the main portion 10. Whenthe handle 32 is swung outwardly, the grip is released and the clips canbe detached completely from the main portion 10.

Referring now to Figs. 4-6, this form is substantially identical to thefirst form of the invention, with the exception that the elasticcomponent is intended to remain connected to the opposite ends of themain portion, even when the grip of the jaw 28 is relaxed. The purposeof this is to cause the overall circumference or size of the belt to betemporarily increased, to an extent that will make the belt quite looseupon the wearer so that it can, while remaining in its endless conditionand while still extending through the loops of apair of trousers, heslipped on and oif with the trousers.

To this end, in the modified form there is a main portion the ends ofwhich are spaced apart. Extending between and connected to therespective ends of main portion 10 is the stretchable component 12*.This is formed of an elastic material similar to that previouslydescribed, and as in the first form there is an arrangement permittingadjustment in the overall length of the stretchable component, by theuse of an adjusting or take-up loop and buckle such as is shown at 18.

In this form of the invention, the clips 24 are identical in everyrespect to the clips of the first form, except that one jaw 26* of eachclip is formed with vertically spaced, horizontally extending slits 34.The material of the jaw 26 between slits 34 is pressed outwardly as at36 providing a tubular portion open at its opposite ends receiving anelongated connecting strip 38, one end of which is attached by stitching40 to the material of the main portion. The strip 38 can be of leatheror the like, and after extension through the slits 34, is againconnected to the main portion through the provision of a wide part 42 ofthe strip in engagement with a button 44 carried by the main portion,said wide part having a buttonhole 46.

In other words, when the jaws of the clips are in their grippingpositions, they operate exactly like the jaws of the clips 24. When,however, the handles of the clips 1Z4 are swung outwardly to cause thejaws to release their grip, the clips do not become completely detachedfrom the ends of the main portion. Instead, the strips 38 flex, asindicated at 38' in Fig. 4, so that the clips may pull outwardly to aslight degree from the ends of the main portion 10*, whereby totemporarily increase the distance across which the elastic component 12*extends. In other words, the elastic component remains connected to themain portion so that the belt still is of endless characteristic.However, the overall circumference of the belt is temporarily increased,causing the belt to become loose upon the body of the wearer tofacilitate its being slipped on or off with a pair of trousers.

Of course, to completely detach the elastic component, one detaches theportion 42 from the button 44, and said portion 42 can be forced throughthe slits 34. Slits 34 are preferably of a length sutficient to permitthe portions 42 to move therethrough without appreciable difiiculty.

In both forms of the invention, the belt has the desirablecharacteristic wherein it can be adjusted in size, and

wherein it is devoid of buckles which must be opened,

or closed each time the belt is put on or taken off. The belt isresiliently expandable and contractable during alternate expansion andcontraction of the waistline, as for example during normal breathing.This eliminates discomfort which is often found when one wears a beltthat does not automatically extend, this being true, of course, ofalmost all conventional belts.

Further, the invention has a desirable characteristic in that it iscapable of manufacture at a comparatively low cost, and is even designedto permit interchanging of a plurality of portions 10 or 10*, so thatone seemingly has a large number of completely difierent belts, al-

though in actuality one is still using the same elastic component 12 or12 with all of the interchangeable main portions.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes andmodifications may be made within the scope of the invention as definedin the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In wearing apparel, a belt comprising a main portion having spacedends, a length of elastic material extending between said ends, andmeans on said length releasably gripping said ends of the main portion,said length of elastic material being stretchable in a longitudinaldirection, the last-named means comprising clips engageable with saidends of the main portion, each clip having a pair of jaws adapted toembrace the associated end of the main portion, said main portionincluding connecting means at its opposite ends connected to one jaw ofthe clips, for holding the clips connected to the main portion in boththe gripping and releasing positions of the jaws, said connecting meanscomprising transverse strips on the ends of the main portion, said onejaw of the clips having spaced slits through which the strips extend.

2. In wearing apparel, a belt comprising a main portion having spacedends, a length of elastic material extending between said ends, andmeans on said length releasably gripping said ends of the main portion,said length of elastic material being stretchable in a longitudinaldirection, the last-named means comprising clips engageable with saidends of the main portion, each clip having a pair of jaws adapted toembrace the associated end of the main portion, said main portionincluding connecting means at its opposite ends connected to one jaw ofthe clips, for holding the clips connected to the main portion in boththe gripping and releasing positions of the jaws, said connecting meanscomprising transverse strips on the ends of the main portion, said onejaw of the clips having spaced slits through which the strips extend,said strips being deformable in the direction of the length of the mainportion so as to permit the clips to move away from said end of the mainportion while remaining connected thereto, thus to temporarily in creasethe overall size of the belt when the clip jaws are in releasedposition.

3. In wearing apparel, a belt comprising a main portion having spacedends, a length of elastic material extending between said ends, andmeans on said length releasably gripping said ends of the main portion,said length of elastic material being stretchable in a longitudinaldirection, the last-named means comprising clips engageable with saidends of the main portion, each clip having a pair of jaws adapted toembrace the associated end of the main portion, said main portionincluding connecting means at its opposite ends connected to one jaw ofthe clips, for holding the clips connected to the main portion in boththe gripping and releasing positions of the jaws, said connecting meanscomprising transverse strips on the ends of the main portion, said onejaw of the clips having spaced slits through which the strips extend,said strips being deformable in the direction of the length of the mainportion so as to permit the clips to move away from said end of the mainportion while remaining connected thereto, thus to temporarily increasethe overall size of the belt when the clip jaws are in releasedposition, the strips being permanently connected at one end to the mainportion, and having detachable connections at their other ends to themain portion.

4. In Wearing apparel, a belt comprising a main portion having spacedends, a length of elastic material extending between said ends, andmeans on said length releasably gripping said ends of the main portion,said length of elastic material being stretchable in a longitudinaldirection, the last-named means comprising clips engageable with saidends of the main portion, each clip having a pair of jaws adapted toembrace the associated end of the main portion, said main portionincluding connecting means at its opposite ends connected to one jaw ofthe clips, for holding the clips connected to the main portion in boththe gripping and releasing positions of the jaws, said connecting meanscomprising transverse strips on the ends of the main portion, said onejaw of the clips having spaced slits through which the strips extend,said strips being deformable in the direction of the length of the mainportion so as to permit the clips to move away from said end of the mainportion while remaining connected thereto, thus to temporarily increasethe overall size of the belt when the clip jaws are in releasedposition, the strips being permanently connected at one end to the mainportion, and having detachable connections at their other ends to themain portion, said other ends of the strips being enlarged.

5. In wearing apparel, a belt comprising a main portion having spacedends, a-length of elastic material extending between said ends, andmeans on said length Ieleasably gripping said ends of the main portion,said length of elastic material being stretchable in a longitudinaldirection, the last-named means comprising clips engageable with saidends of the main portion, each Clip having a pair of jaws adapted toembrace the associated end of the main portion, said main portionincluding connecting means at. its opposite ends connected to one jaw ofthe clips, for holding the clips connected to the main portion in boththe gripping and releasing positions of the jaws, said connecting meanscomprising transverse strips on the ends of the main portion, said onejaw of the clips having spaced slits through which the strips extend,said strips being deformable in the direction of the length of the mainportion so as to permit the clips to move away from said end of the mainportion while remaining connected thereto, thus to temporarily increasethe overall size of the belt when the clip jaws are in i releasedposition, the strips being permanently connected at one end to the mainportion, and having detachable connections at their other ends to themain portion, said other ends of the strips being enlarged, and havingbuttonholes, said detachable connections comprising buttons carried bythe main portion and extendable through said buttonholes.

References Cited in the file of this patent

